


The Park

by INMH



Series: hc_bingo Amnesty Fills [18]
Category: Heavy Rain
Genre: Abduction, Angst, Child Murder, Crime, Dark, Drama, During Canon, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INMH/pseuds/INMH
Summary: Scott takes Shaun.
Series: hc_bingo Amnesty Fills [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/942342
Kudos: 9





	The Park

Shaun is alone.  
  
_It’s time._  
  
Scott shifts uneasily, pulling at the collar of the police uniform that is slightly too small for him now. There is always a chance that this could go wrong, always a chance that a _real_ officer could notice him- and contained in that chance there is another possibility that they could be someone Scott knows; someone who knows that he is no longer an officer and should not be wearing a uniform anymore.  
  
And then everything will be over.  
  
He’s sweating. It’s October, the weather is cold and rainy, and he is sweating. It’s a bad look for what he’s about to do.  
  
_No one will notice._  
  
Rainy means wet.  
  
Any wetness on his uniform could be easily ignored.  
  
Scott delays for another minute, watching to make sure that Ethan doesn’t come back. He can’t wait too long, though: The park isn’t full, but there’s enough people around that a scared, confused child will be quickly noticed and assisted.  
  
If someone else gets to Shaun first, ( _maybe?_ ) then it’s not in the cards for today: Scott cannot be seen interacting with a boy before he takes him, especially if said boy has previously been identified as not being able to find his father.  
  
People have better memories than they realize.  
  
It would not be long before Scott would be caught.  
  
He finally forces himself out of the car, shutting the door more quietly than he really needs to- just in case. It is a long walk across the pavement, then the grass, then the dirt path to where Shaun is standing next to the carousel, head craning and body twisting in an effort to locate Ethan.  
  
“Are you lost, son?” Scott asks lightly.  
  
Shaun’s head whips towards him. Scott sees the look of recognition, the light that enters his eyes when he realizes that a police officer is present. This isn’t an uncommon reaction: Save for maybe two or three boys (Johnny Winter among them, undoubtedly due to his mother’s profession), most of the children Scott has taken have been relieved or unaffected to see a police officer.  
  
“I… Can’t find my dad,” Shaun says, still looking back and forth all the while like he expects Ethan to come running up at any moment.  
  
( _Please do._  
  
_Save him._ )  
  
If a father comes to retrieve a child before Scott can take them, he never pursues the child again.  
  
(They’ve already been saved.)  
  
Scott looks around as well- and then thinks to ask, “What does he look like?” Because Shaun cannot know that Scott already knows very well what Ethan Mars looks like; he cannot remember that Scott was in the crowd the day that his brother Jason had died, Ethan very nearly following him. He cannot know that Scott suspects ( _hopes_ ) that Ethan will be the father he has been looking for all these years.  
  
The one that will sacrifice everything to save his son.  
  
“Brown hair, blue eyes, uh… Brown jacket and jeans,” Shaun says with only a little hesitation. The hair and eyes are evident, but even Scott knows that Ethan’s style in clothing has been decidedly monochromatic since Jason’s death and the subsequent divorce from his wife.  
  
“Hm,” Scott mutters, shaking his head. “I don’t see him.”  
  
Quickly, quickly.  
  
The longer they linger, the more likely someone is to take notice and remember later.  
  
Shaun’s anxiety is palpable. “He…” he gnaws his lip. “…Dad sometimes… He got into a… His memory’s not so good.”  
  
“Do you think he might’ve forgotten you here?”  
  
“No,” Shaun says quickly, shaking his head. “But sometimes… Sometimes he forgets where he is.”  
  
_Ah._  
  
Scott only knows a little about Ethan’s physical and psychological struggles since Jason’s death- he doesn’t stalk the man twenty-four hours a day, after all. But that Ethan’s issues are severe enough that he would accidentally wander off in a fit of confusion and leaving Shaun unattended is surprising: Scott is suddenly shaken, wondering if Ethan is as capable of saving Shaun as Scott believes him to be. The spirit may be willing, but the mind and body can only go so far.  
  
_No._  
  
Scott hardens himself.  
  
If the spirit is willing, the mind and body will find a way.  
  
Ethan must save his son.  
  
( _Now or never._ )  
  
“Well, buddy, I think it might be better if I brought you to the station,” Scott says, noticing as Shaun’s shoulders sink at the proclamation. “I’ll see if we can’t get some people looking for your dad, make sure he’s okay.”  
  
Shaun nods, eyes on the ground. “Okay.”  
  
Scott takes Shaun’s hand, and gently pulls him in the direction of the car.  
  
At first Shaun comes- and then he resists.  
  
Scott’s heart damn near stops; he turns to look at the boy, and sees fear and worry in his eyes.  
  
_Shit._  
  
“Is my dad gonna get into trouble?”  
  
Scott blinks.  
  
_He’s worried about his dad getting arrested, not you._  
  
He has to force himself not to sigh with relief.  
  
“Nah,” Scott says easily, shaking his head. “You said he’s got some problems with his head, yeah? Forgetting where he is? We just want to find him and make sure he’s safe, and that you’re safe until that happens.” It is precisely what he would say when he _was_ still a police officer, if he had ever been in a situation like this.  
  
Shaun relaxes minutely. “Okay.”  
  
The train, once wobbling, is back firmly on the tracks.  
  
Scott leads Shaun to his car, sets him inside, and then detaches from himself.  
  
It usually happens once he’s led the boy back to his car, the point of no return. Once this milestone has been reached, once the child is in his possession and he is beyond a point where he can claim any semblance of innocence, when he cannot turn them loose without significant risk of being caught, he goes into a strange sort of autopilot that guides him through the next steps.  
  
The boy will immediately be brought to the warehouse and forced into the drywell. Scott will speak to them very little until they arrive, and even then only direct commands to get out of the car, into the warehouse, into the drywell- all of which will be ordered while the boy is at gunpoint. At present, none has ever tried to run: They usually cry, or stare in mute silence even once the grate has been closed over the drywell and locked.  
  
And then, always, Scott asks the same question:  
  
“If I give him clues about where you are, will your father come for you?”  
  
Sometimes the boys shrink, cold resignation in their eyes; their fathers, they know, will not come- or if they do, even these children are smart enough to know that their fathers are not competent enough to save them. They are without confidence and know that they will likely die if left to rely on their fathers.  
  
But some of them, like Reza Hassan’s son, had perked up: These were the boys that had held out hope until the rainwater forced its way down their throats and suffocated them, because they had fathers that had loved them. Whatever else happened, they knew their fathers would _try_.  
  
_I wonder which one you will be,_ Scott wonders as he drives towards the warehouse, eyeing Shaun in the rearview mirror. _I wonder if you **believe** that your father will come for you._  
  
They would soon find out.  
  
-End


End file.
